Let’s Talk Women’s Nutrition and Health
Today, we are going to talk about what nutrients do female adults need along with some basic women’s nutrition.
Table of Contents
For years, recommendations on women’s health and women’s nutrition were based on the findings found on men. However, as women, we know that men’s bodies are much different than women’s. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that an act of Congress created the Women’s Health Initiative which was designed as the first major clinical trial to study women. That helped us learn more about when nutrients do female adults need.
I was honored to have worked with this study for almost an entire decade of my nutrition career! My role in the study was as a dietitian working with the Women’s Health dietary portion of the study. Though, the most well-known findings of the study were the hormone replacement clinic trials.
Before that time, women were often prescribed hormones being told it would help keep them looking younger, prevent them from feeling depressed, and may even help protect them from heart disease. Although, there was not a lot of research to back up those facts.
The Women’s Health Initiative found that prescribing hormone therapy for many of us may provide more risk than benefits although each woman varies on a case-by-case basis.
The findings from the nutrition arm of the Women’s Health Initiative and studies designed specifically for women after that have helped form nutrition guidelines for health providers like myself to share with our female clients!
I am excited to share some of this information with you and I have put together a daily nutrition requirement chart for you to download at the end of this article!
First, I want to take a few minutes to talk about some of the changes in our body that make women and nutrition needs more variable than men’s.
What Nutrients Do Female Adults Need? Life Cycle Needs for Women’s Nutrition
The entire woman’s life cycle is so unique based on where she is on her hormone journey. Here is a glimpse of where we go:
- Young Women Reaching Menarche: This is when a young woman begins her period.
- Women in child-bearing years: From pregnancy, non-pregnant, lactating, and infertility. There are a lot of ups and downs in these years.
- Perimenopause: When women begin preparing for the change of life and they are sort of in-between child-bearing
years and the menopause change. This time could start in the middle of the 30s but is more common in the 40s. - Menopause: This is the ceasing of menstruation usually between the age of 45 and 50.
- Post-Menopause: This is considered after a woman has not had a period for one full year.
What’s So Unique About Daily Nutrition Requirements for Women?
Let’s talk about how womens health and nutrition needs look different for men and children. This chart from health.gov for nutritional goals for each age/sex group can help assess the adequacy of USDA Food Patterns at various calorie levels
Women’s daily nutrient needs differ from men’s and children’s needs because our bodies are very different.
In fact, depending on the life cycle a woman is currently in, this also affects what we need!
Here are some specific nutrients that are particularly important for women’s health.
Nutritional Requirements for Females As Adults
Let’s talk about nutrition requirements for women. I will also focus on how nutrition for women over 40 may differ from younger women.
I am touching on a few of them today but to get more information on nutrition for women, don’t forget to download the handout on what nutrients do female adults need at the end of this post! I think that you will find it very helpful!
You don’t have to rely on supplements or protein powders to get the nutrients that you need unless you can’t get enough of real food. Real food is always the best and I have included some examples below.
- Protein Needs in Women and Nutrition:
Men have higher protein needs than most women because they usually have a larger muscle mass than most women but, these needs vary with individuals. As women and men get older, they have a more difficult time building muscle and this can change protein requirements.
In addition, depending on health conditions this can also affect protein needs.
Good sources of protein include lean meats, fatty fish, eggs, dairy products, soy foods, beans, and nuts/seeds. - Iron Needs in Women and Nutrition:
Women have a higher need for iron than men during their menstruation years. But the need for it tapers off after menopause. Excess iron may be harmful for men and older women if it is not needed.
Good sources of iron include lean meats, fatty fish, soy foods, beans, and nuts/seeds. - Calcium/Vitamin D Needs in Women’s Nutrition:
Women’s need for calcium is higher during pregnancy but it is also higher after menopause because women become more at risk for osteoporosis. Calcium needs are also increased as men are older because of their risk for osteoporosis.
Females are a risk of not getting the amount of calcium to build healthy bones to prevent bone fractures as they get older.
Good sources of calcium include dairy, fortified soy, and other plant sources in a recent article that I wrote.
Vitamin D seems to remain the same in adults but vitamin D levels are important to assess because many people (including myself) often have low levels.
Vitamin D is not in many foods and often has to be supplemented. Many people may need additional amounts of vitamin D to get to optimal levels. It may be important to have levels tested for optimal health. - Vitamin B6 and Folate Needs for Women’s Nutrition:
Vitamin B6 is important for women during their menses and folate is critical for fetus development when a woman is pregnant. Here is some guidance for folate needs in pregnancy.
Good sources of B6 include poultry, fish, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
Besides, different nutrient needs, women’s chronic disease rates differ from those of men, and women also have different organs to have diseases. Here are some examples:
Chronic Disease and How Women’s Nutrition Plays a Role
Even though we may feel invincible, certain disease conditions occur more to us as women. This is because of differing body parts but also the fact that women’s hormones vary so much depending on our life cycle.
Some of the diseases that occur more or only in women include autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, hormone imbalance, and female cancers.
Some of the conditions below affect both women and men.
1. Heart Disease in Women:
Women have lower rates of heart disease than men until they reach menopause and then their risk begins to equal men’s risk. Women’s symptoms of a heart attack are slightly different than a man’s and they are more subtle. But even though women’s heart attacks are more silent, they are also more deadly.
Here is some great information about menopausal risk factors and heart disease. I also have an article on good nutrition for women to prevent and manage heart disease.
2. Cancer in Women:
According to the American Cancer Society, the cancers that affect women most often (and female body cancers that only affect women) are breast, colorectal, endometrial, lung, cervical, skin, and ovarian cancers.
Check out more information on the American Cancer Society website and American Institute for Cancer Research on how you can prevent treatment options and survive these.
Check out my article on eating to prevent and manage cancer in women.
3. Kidney Failure in Women:
Disease of the kidney is slightly higher for women than men, check out more information about these diseases and women at the National Kidney Foundation.
4. Osteoporosis and Bone Health for Women:
Being a woman makes us more at risk for osteoporosis and breaking a bone, find out more here at National
Osteoporosis Foundation.
5. Hormone Imbalance Conditions for Women:
I love this new resource that I found on hormones and health for women, it includes the entire women’s life cycle where there may be health issues based on hormone imbalance. Be sure to scroll all the way down for “view all articles” for the entire life cycle. Check out TheEndocrine Society’s Women’s Health and Hormones.
I also have written an article about food and its effect on hormones that you might find helpful.
6. Autoimmune Disease and Women:
About 8 % of the population suffers from an autoimmune disease and about 78 % of the people who have these diseases are women, here is a good resource on women and autoimmune disease.
Great Resources for Women’s Nutrition and Health
Here are some other great resources for learning more about women’s health. I hope that they are as helpful to you as they were to me!
Government Website on Women’s Health
GreatPowerpoint on Women’s Nutrition and Health
NutritionDuring Perimenopause and Menopause
Post Menopause has its challenges, I love these suggestions from Johns
Hopkin’s Medicine is an introduction to some good things that may be helpful as we get older.
Nutrition for Women in Our Later Years
Are you inspired to get going to take better care of yourself and want to keep up the momentum? Here is a helpful pdf on what nutrients do female adults need.
To get you started I want to share this free handout that I put together on nutrition for women called Key Nutrients Needed in Women’s Health.
Get ready to make your own women’s health and nutrition plan to help you be successful! This pdf on what nutrients do female adults need will be a good start!
Above all, I am here to help you facilitate the process, provide information, and support you! I am an Asheville Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and I would love to help! You can find out a little bit more about me here Asheville Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (vineripenutrition.com).
I will be providing more information on my women’s health and nutrition courses coming soon but meanwhile, you can find out more about how inflammation affects our bodies by signing up for my free class on ways to fight inflammation. The sign-up should pop up at the top of any blog post!
